Crochet? Hooray!: Captain America Beret

Full disclosure: I have actually been crocheting for about a year and a half now.

I found my grandmother's hooks in my basement while cleaning one day. She had died when I was...I wanna say 10? I was in school and the funeral was out of state, so I wasn't able to go. When my parents came home, they brought me a few trinkets, some jewelry and her pouch of crochet hooks. She was very creative. I have one of her afghans, one she made me for Christmas one year. It's my favorite blanket, warm and soft and full of love. I tried at one point to learn how to crochet in middle school, but some tension issues and adolescent frustration lead to putting them away for many years. I picked up knitting and I loved it, but when I found the hooks, I felt guilty for not using them.

So, I set out to change that. I sat down with her hooks, and some yarn, and a few YouTube videos, and made my first granny square. Then a shawl. And I loved it. Now, I crochet almost every day. I hardly ever knit, crochet is so much faster. I still have my needles, and maybe someday I'll pick them up again. But for now, it's happy hooking for me.

Last year, a friend wanted a hat to commemorate her love of all things Cap. I couldn't find a pattern at the time, so I designed one. I crocheted through this pattern a few times, and the number of stitches of blue to crochet around the star hasn't been quite...consistent. But the overall technique is solid. So here it is, in time for the upcoming premier of  Winter Soldier, the Captain America Beret:

I used the silvery yarn and a darker red to look more like the shield from the movies, but bright red white and blue work equally well.

G hook

~With white yarn~

Create a slip knot.
5sc in loop, pull tight
2sc in each sc around (10)
*2sc in stitch, 1 sc* around (15)
*sl, ch 6, [1sc in 1st ch, 1hdc, 1dc, 1htc, 1tc], skip 1 stich, s1* 5 times
sc around
sl st join 2nd color [blue]

~Blue~
ch 5, 1tc, 1htc, 1dc, 1hdc, 1sc, *1hdc, 1dc, 1htc, 2tc, skip 1, 2tc, 1htc, 1dc, 1hdc, 3sc* repeat 3 more times, 1hdc, 1dc, 1htc, 1tc, sl to join {ed. note: No matter how many times I test this, this row, and as a result the next, are always a bit off. The take away is basicly to transition from triples at the bottom to singles at the points.}
ch3, dc, hdc, 2sc, sl *sl, 2sc, hdc, 3dc, hdc, 2sc, 2sl* repeat 3 more times, s1, 2sc, hdc, dc, sl to join 3rd color[red] (55)

~Red~
ch3, *4dc, 2sc in same st* around, sl to join (66)
ch3, *5dc, 2dc in same st* around, sl to join [white] (77)

~White~
ch3, *6dc, 2dc in same st* around, sl to join (88)
ch3, *7dc, 2dc in same st* around, sl to join [red] (99)

~Red~
ch3, *8dc, 2dc in same st* around, sl to join (110)
ch3, dc around, sl to join (110)
ch3, *8dc, dctog* around, sl to join (99)
ch3, *7dc, dctog* around, sl to join (88)
ch3, *6dc, dctog* around, sl to join (77)
ch3, *5dc, dctog* around, sl to join (66)
ch3, *4dc, dctog* around, sl to join (55)
ch3, *3dc, dctog* around, sl to join (44)
ch2, hdc around, sl to join, twice
ch1, sc around, sl to join
Repeat final row once, finish off

If you use this pattern, please do not sell the items. It is for personal use only. However, feel free to send me a picture, I love to see what people make!

Nerdy Knits: Whovian Alphabet for Knitting

As I said last week, I am continuing my series of geeky alphabet charts for you yarn crafters out there. You can find my first two installments here: Potter! Twilight!

This week's alphabet is near and dear to my heart, the Whovian Alphabet.

Now, I am not caught up. Seriously. I don't have cable, so I watch on Netflix, or occasionally elsewhere on the internet, so I haven't seen anything since the Ponds left. That said I am seriously excited for Peter Capaldi's take on our favorite Madman with a Box.

Let me know if you use my lettering, I want to see what you make! If you want to sell what you made, just link back here. (And please, don't try to sell my charts.) You should also consider checking out my fob watch inspired baby rattle.

So who are my fellow Whovians? Sound off in the comments, but please no spoilers. ;)

Nerdy Knits: Twilight Alphabet for Knitters

It's been well over a year, but my Potter Alphabet continues to be my most popular post, by far, outstripping all other posts combined. In that vein, I have decided to continue with a series of sci-fi/fantasy fonts so that you lovelies can let your own creativity shine. SO with out further ado, I present, the Twilight font:

I chose to do all lower case, as the book titles are all written in lower case.

As always, you are free to use this pattern in any way you see fit, provided two things:

1.) Do not sell my charts directly
2.) If you sell an item made using my charts, please credit it back to this page

Other than that, it's free, always will be. Have fun!

New! A Doctor Who font!

DIY Another Day: Dream Catcher Valentine

I am a fairly recent Pinterest addict. It is...ridiculously inspiring, but also soul eating. I often spend hours of my day pouring through the DIY/crafts section, and occasionally finding something that makes me go "I must stop right this minute and go clean my tub/scrub my grout/make a cute thing!"

On one of my recent binges, I came across the idea of cutting out letters from cardboard and wrapping them in yarn to make cute, custom signage. I mostly saw this used for names and such, but I got this inkling that it was seriously only scraping the surface of the potential for the technique.

It was in this mindset that my eyes fell on a paper plate that I had pulled out to block a beret I made for a friend, and set aside when I discovered it was WAY too small for the job. I picked up my scissors and started cutting. I first cut the circle out of the center, then cut a heart shaped hole in the middle of that.

I took some scrap red yarn from the beret project and wrapped it around a clothes pin to use as a sort of bobbin, cut a small slit in the bottom of the heart to anchor the knot and started in. The point of the heart was a bit tricky to navigate, so I ended up wrapping both sides bottom-up.

 

Once I got to the point at the top, I wrapped very carefully, then pulled both ends through the same 4 or 5 loops in opposite directions, tying tightly to keep those stitches in line.

 

Then, I threaded a tapestry needle with a bit of pink yarn, sewing under 6 slightly unevenly spaced stitches around the edge of the heart, and continued wrapping the yarn around each bit of the circle until I reached the center. You know, like you do when you're making a dream catcher. Then I tied it off and turned it over.

 

Finally I cut small pieces out of what was left of the plate, grabbed my markers and scrawled out a cute message, one word per piece, and affixed  them to the web. You should use glue. I admit to using tape, because I couldn't find my glue, lol.

That's it! You could attach it to a background, like scrapbook paper, or frame it. I apologize for the quality of picture, but all I had was my phone. And you know those people who could take a picture of a person picking their nose and make it look like high art? I am not one of them.

I was really pleased as punch at how this turned out. (Yes, I occasionally talk like a septuagenarian.)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. <3